7 Best Things to Do in Metro Phoenix This Week

New Times picks the best events in metro Phoenix from Monday, July 11, through Thursday, July 14. For more things to do, see our curated online calendar.

Judy Garland: A Musical Legend There’s a lot more to Judy Garland than The Wizard of Oz. Star of movies and TV, she incorporated singing into every project, and she also engaged in one of the most popular pastimes of Hollywood’s Golden Age: serially marrying people, including people who had very recently been married to someone else. Then there was the depression and booze and pills, and being mom to Liza Minnelli — you know, from Arrested Development.

Judy Garland: A Musical Legacy previews at 7 p.m. Monday, July 11, as part of the Herberger Lunch Time Theater series. Admission is $3. The play continues at 12:10 p.m. through Thursday, July 21, at 222 East Monroe Street. Admission is $6. A pre-ordered lunch is optional. Visit www.herbergertheater.org or call 602-252-8497. Julie Peterson

Notaro shares her latest, Housebroken.

Courtesy of Laurie Notaro

Laurie Notaro Book-Signing Life is messy — and Laurie Notaro, New York Times bestselling author, humorist, and guide to Idiot Girls everywhere, is acutely aware of it.

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The former Phoenician (and occasional New Times contributor) returns to Changing Hands Bookstore on Tuesday, July 12, to read from her newest book, Housebroken: Admissions of an Untidy Life. The collection of essays tackles domestic life head-on, chronicling habits like her penchant for hoarding to funny failures (and a few successes) with baking, cooking, and cleaning.

Pre-assigned group seating begins at 6:30 p.m., reading starts at 7 p.m. at 6428 South McClintock Drive in Tempe. The signing follows. Admission is $17 and includes one paperback copy and two tickets. For details or to pre-order copies of Housebroken, see www.changinghands.com or call 480-730-0205. Janessa Hilliard

Running for Brews On one hand, the folks with Running for Brews pride themselves on being the “most chill” running club around. On the other, they do weekly 5K runs in Tempe … in July. Someone unversed in American vernacular might find this somewhat paradoxical. Yet if you’re looking to meet people with a penchant for running and beer, usually in that order, Running for Brews might be a no-brainer. Sorta like how someone unversed in our vernacular might consider running a 5K in a Santa hat in the dead of summer to be a no-brainer — or not. The next brouhaha is at Tempe’s Moonshine Whiskey Bar, 410 South Mill Avenue, at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 12. Visit www.runningforbrews.com or call 480-429-4044 for details. Rob Kroehler

Change Over Time by Ellen McMahon is on view at The Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts.

Photo by Lynn Trimble

"S.T.E.A.M." Apparently S.T.E.M. education (comprising science, technology, engineering, and math) has become so trendy that even galleries and museums have embraced it. Thankfully, the Gallery at Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 West Rio Salado Parkway, also added art to the mix.

You can see its “S.T.E.A.M.” exhibition (complete with the “A” for art) between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13. Never fear if school wasn’t your favorite pastime. Despite the show’s title, it’s more art exhibition that lesson plan, though you’ll likely learn a thing or two while you’re there.

Featured artists include Monica Aissa Martinez, Alexandra Bowers, Frank Gonzales, Molly Koehn, and Madison Creech, to name a few. The free exhibition continues through Saturday, August 6, and there’s no homework. Visit www.tempe.gov. Lynn Trimble